Harry



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. H. 0. WHITNEY.

TUBE CUTTING MACHINE.

No. 460,317. Patented Sept. 29,1891.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2..

- H. O. WHITNEY. TUBE CUTTING MACHINE.

No. 460,817. Patented Sept. 29,1891.

we norms PETERS cm, PnoTo-umm, msumumn, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT Cl rion.

HARRY O. \VHITNEY, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE VINCHESTERREPEATING ARMS COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

TUBE-CUTTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 460,317, datedSeptember 29, 1891. Application filed May 18, 1891. fierial No. 393,161-(ll'o model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HARRY O. l/VHITNEY, of'New Haven, in the county ofNew Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a newImprovementinTube-CuttingMachines; and I do hereby declare the following, when takenin connection with accompanying drawin and the letters of referencemarked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, andrepresent, in

Figure 1, a view in front elevation ofa machine constructed inaccordance with my invention; Fig. 1, a detached broken View showing thecam, the lever, and the draft-rod, which cooperate to rock the tubereceiver or carriage to bring the tube under the action of the gang ofrotary cutters; Fig. 2, a view showing the body of the machine in planand the hopper in horizontal section on the line a Z) of Fig. 1; Fig. 3,a View of the machine in end elevation from the outer end of the hopper;Fig. 4,.a View of the hopper and the tube receiver or carriage invertical section on the irregular line a: x of Fig. 1; Fig. 5, a

broken view of the hopper in a horizontal section on line 0 (Z of Fig.1, showing the de liveringframe for operating the deliveringsprings inits projected position, in which the column of tubes in the hopper issustained by the lower pins; Fig. 6, a similar view with the said framein its retired position, in which the column of tubes in the hopper issustained by the upper pins; Fig. 7, a view in vertical section on lineefof Fig. 2, showing the tube-adjusting sleeve and the springs employedfor securing the final adjustment of the tubes on the groovedtube-arbor; Fig. 8, a similar but less complete View showing 0 theretraction of the tube-ad j usting sleeve by the lighter spring; Fig. 9,a view in vertical.

section of the tail-stock on the line gh of Fig. 2, the said View alsoshowing the eX- treme end of the groovedtube-arbor; Fig. l0,

a View in transverse section on line y y of Fig. l, and showing bybroken lines the positions of the tube receiver or carriage and thetube-arbor when they are rocked to bring the. tube into contact with therotary cutters.

Figs. 4. to 10, inclusive, are drawn to a larger scale than thepreceding figures.

My invention relates to an improved machine for cutting blank tubes intothe short lengths required for paper-shell cartridges, the object beingto provide a simple and effective automatic machine having a large capacity for Work.

WVith these ends in view my invention consists in an automatic machinehaving certain details of construction and combinations of parts, aswill be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

The hopper of the machine is provided with a straight front wall A,slightly inclined from the perpendicular and having a central verticalopeningA, extending from its upper to its lower edge to permit thecharge of tubes B Within it to be observed. The rear wall C of thehopper is'carried rearwardly at its upper end to secure capacitytherein; but at its lower end it is made parallel with the front wall toform a neck or throat adapted in its dimensions to permit a singlecolumn of tubes to pass downward through it freely, but with littleopportunity for play in any direction. Two pairs of upright springs D.

D are respectively attached by their upper ends to the front and rearwalls of the hopper. Each of these springs is provided at its free lowerend with an enlargement or head D, carrying an inwardly-projecting pinand having a horizontal transverse slot D formed in its inner face. Thesaid pins project through suitable perforations in the walls of thehopper into the throator neck thereof, so as to engage with the columnof tubes therein. Two correspondingsprings E E, secured to the rear wallof the hopper near the ends thereof, are provided at their lower endswith corresponding slotted heads or enlargements E, having transversehorizontal slots E? in their inner faces and provided at their lowerends with pins E projecting through perforations in the rear wall of thehopperintothethroat thereof. Thesesprings D and E, I shall hereinafterspeak of as .de livering-springs, inasmuch as their function is tosuccessively deliver the'tubes from the hopper. The springs constitutemovable supports for the pins. A delivering-frame at- I00 tached t0 thelower end ofthe hopperin bearings F F, in which it reciprocates,consists of two side bars F F, united at their outer ends by across-piece F which I shall hereinafter call a bumper, the said barsrespectively extending along the front and rear walls of the hopper. Theouter faces of the said side bars are provided with cam-recesses Fappropriately located to co-operate with the heads D of the respectivesprings D, the said bars being entered into the slots D formed in theinner faces of the said heads. The rea r side bar is also provided withtwo camrecesses F, arranged for co-operation with the heads E of the twosprings E. Aspiral spring G, attached to the delivering-frame through apin G depending from the forward side bar thereof and also connectedwith the inner bearing F of the said frame, is provided forautomatically throwing the same into its projected position. From thehopper the tubes are successively dropped into a movable tube-receiverconsisting, essentially, of a tail-stock H, a head-block H, and twoparallel horizontal bars H H forming a connection between the said stockand block and four fingers H connected with the bars H at suitablepoints in the length thereof, extending upward therefrom, and diverging,as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, to receive the tubes. While I haveshown only four of these fingers more may be employed, if desired. Thesaid tube-receiver is also provided with av fender ll inclining rearwardand adapted to direct the short lengths into which the tubes are cutinto the receptacle provided for them. The said tail-stock is mounted soas to slide freely upon a shaft I, journaled in bearings I I and adaptedto be turned therein, as will be hereinafter described. The tubereceiveris reciprocated upon the projecting outer end of the said shaft by meansof two levers J J, the former having its outer end attached to a smallblock J connected with the foot of the tail-stock H in such a manner asto permit the same to rock independently of it. The inner end of thesaid lever J is connected with the upper end of the lever J, the lowerend whereof is hinged to a foot J bolted to the flooron which themachine stands. The said lever J is enlarged toward its lower endandconstructed with a longitudinal slot J receiving a pin J, mounted ina Wheel .1, which is secured to a shaft J driven from a pulley J (SeeFig. 3.)

By means of the operating connections just described the tube-receiveris reciprocated back and forth under the hopper and in front of the gangof rotary cutters K, which are mounted at equal distances apart upon ashaft K, journaled in bearings K K and furnished with a driving-pulley Kdriven from any convenient source of power. "When constructed to bereciprocated as described, the tube-receiver virtually forms a carriage.The head-block H of the tube receiver or carriage is set into a grooveL, formed in a collar L, (see Fig. 10,) rigidly attached to the shaft I,the said block sliding back and forth with the tube-receiver in the saidgroove. The said head block is provided with a horizontal cylindricalchamber M, which receives, as the tube receiver or carriage is movedback and forth, a tube-arbor N, located in line with the same andconstructed throughout its length with annular grooves 1W which arespaced in accordance with the spacing of the cutters K, which theyreceive, the said arbor being journaled at one end in an upright bearingM rigidly secured to the projecting end of the shaft 1, with which itrocks, so that the arbor and carriage are together deflected toward thecutters. The bearing M as will be seen by reference to. Fig. 2, is madelong enough to afford ample support for the tubearbor, which is providedat a point close to the inner face of the bearing with a pulley Mreceiving a belt (not shown) driven from any convenient source of power.The head-block is also provided with a finger M arranged to engage withthe bumper F of the delivering frame, so as to push the same back intoits retired position, and thus operate the springs E E in delivering atube to the carriage. The head-block is further provided with atubeadjusting sleeve 0, corresponding in diameter to the diameter of thetubes to be cut and furnished at its inner end with a flange O, whichretains in place a light spiral spring 0 interposed between the saidflange and the outer wall 0 of the chamber M. A heavier spiral spring P,also located in the said chamber, but on the outside of the flange O ofthe sleeve 0, is provided for overcoming the tension of the spring 0 andprojecting the sleeve when its outer end is brought into engagement withthe adjacent face of the pulley M as shown by Fig. 7 of the drawings. Apin Q, mounted in the said sleeve, projects through a horizontal slot Qformed in the block and limits the sliding movement of the sleeve, andalso prevents the same from rotating. The particular offices of the saidsleeve and spring will be set forth later on. The free or outer end ofthe grooved tube arbor is slightly pointed to adapt it to be centered ina corresponding recess formed in a small cylindrical head R, which isprovided with a shank R, entering a horizontal opening formed in theupper end of the tail-stock. A spring R encircling the said shank andlocated in a chamberformedfor it in the tail-stock, provides for therequired movement in the said head R, which is held against displacementby a pin R and a horizontal slot R, as shown by Figs. 1 and 9 of thedrawings. hen the carriage has been brought into position in front ofthe cutters, both it and the arbor are rocked toward the same, so as tobring the tube upon the latter into contact with them by means of an armS, (see Fig. 10,) rigidly connected with the rotatable shaft I, andhaving its outer end attached to a draft-rod S, connected at,its lowerend with a lever S hung at its opposite end upon a standard S andengaged hopper, the column being now midway of its length by a cam S,mounted upon the shaft J, before mentioned. When the cam S depresses thelever S the same will operate, through its draft-rod S and the arm S, toturn the shaft I, and thus tilt the carriage and arbor into thepositions in which they are shown by broken lines in Fig. 10 of thedrawings. The carriage and arbor are immediately restored to theirnormal or upright positions after being so tilted by means of a springT, located under the bed T of the machine and connected at its forwardend with an arm T, (see Fig. 1,) rigidly attached to the shaft.

Having described in detail the construction of my improved machine, Iwill now proceed to set forth the mode of its operation.

The tubes upon being fed into the hopper will at once form into anupright column in the contracted lower end or throat thereof, the saidcolumn being supported by the engagemeutof its lower tube with the twoinwardlyprojecting pins E springs E E. When now the carriage is movedinto position to receive a tube, the finger M of its head-block willengage with the bumper F of thedeliveri ng-frameandpush thesame backinto its retired position against the tension of the spring G. As thespringis pushed back in this manner the cam-recesses F F, formed in theouter face of the rear bar of the said frame, will operate to push thesprings E E outward, and so withdraw-the two pins E E from under thecolumn of tubes, releasing the lower tube of the column and permittingthe same to drop into the spreading-fingers H of the carriage. Directlyafter the cam-recesses F F have thus acted upon the springs E E thecam-recesses F will be brought into range with the springs D to permitthe same to come together and shoot or project their pins D under thecolumn of tubes and tempo-' rarily support them. Now as the carriagemoves out from under the hopper the finger M of the head-block will becarried away from the bumper F of the delivering-frame and permit thespring G to act in throwing the said frame into its projected position.This movement of the frame causes the inclined walls of the cam-recessesF to spread the springs D and withdraw their pins D from under thecolumn of tubes and again brings the cam-recesses F into range with thesprings F which are thus permitted to project their pins E under thecolumn of tubes before any have time to drop out of the lowerend of thesupported by the lower pins E. It will be noted that when the tubes aredropped into the carriage they are supported by the lower pins, whichengage the tubes near their ends, whereby the tubes are dropped moreevenly than they would be if they were supported when dropped from thepins engaging them nearer their central points. \Vhen the tube dropsinto the carriage, its respective ends just .clear'the of the twodelivering face of the cylindrical eenteringhead R and the outer end ofthe tube-adjusting sleeve 0, there being just enough clearance betweenthe said head and the end of the sleeve to permit the tubes to assumetheir positions in the carriage. WVhen the tube is resting in thecarriage, it is exactly in line with the grooved tube-arbor, over whichit is telescoped, so to speak, by the outward movement of the carriage,and just before they are tipped to bring the tube into contact with therotary cutters the outer end of the spring P engages with the smallpulley M whereby the said spring is compressed and the tube-adjustingsleeve shot outward to take up the clearancespace required to permit thetube to take its properposition in the carriage. As the sleeve is shotoutward its outer end engages wi h the adjacent end of the tube andpushes the same outward until its opposite end is firmly seated againstthe face of the cylindrical centering-head R. It will be apparent thatas all of the tubes are firmly seated against the said head before theyare cut up it constitutes a gage for them and insures equality in thelength of the short shell-sections, waste material, due to excessivelength in the tubes, being cut off from their opposite ends. It will beunderstood, of course, that by the time the final adjustment of the tubeon the tubearbor takes place the pointed end of the said. arbor has beenentered into the recess in the said head. When all is ready, as has beendescribed, the rotatable shaft is rocked and the tube brought into therange of the rotarycutters, whereby it is cut into short lengths. Thespring T now operates to throw the arbor and tube-carriage back intotheir upright positions and the return movement of the carriage begins,the tube-sections dropping off from the free end of the tube-arbor asthe carriage moves back under the hopper. Just before it reaches itsfinal position under the same the finger M of the head-block againengages with the bumper F of the deliveringframe and operates, asbefore, to actuate the springs E and D thereof in dropping the lowertube of the column and in supporting the same momentarily by the upperpins.

My improved device may be operated with considerable speed and requiresbut one attendant, the work done by it being more accurate than whendonebyhand and at much less expense.

If desired, some changes may be made in the construction herein shownand described. Thus the tube-receiver may be made stationary and thearbor arranged to reciprocate instead of the reverse arrangement shownand described. In this case the gang of cutters would be located on oneside of the hopper instead of in line withits inner end, as shown.Again, the cutters might be advanced to the tube-carriage andtube-arbor, instead of .ad vancing the carriage and arbor to thecutters, or all of the said parts might be advanced toward each other. Iwould therefore have it IIO understood that I do not limit myself to theexact construction and arrangement of parts herein shown and described,but hold myself at liberty to make such changes and alterations asfairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described 1nyinvention,what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a machine for cutting blank tubes into short lengths forpaper-shell cartridges, the combination, with a hopper, of atube-receiver and a tube-arbor located in line with each other,respectively receiving the tubes from the hopper and supporting themwhile being cut and one being longitudinally movable, a gang of cutters,and means for moving one or more of the devices to subject the tubeswhen on the arbor to the action of the cutters, substantially asdescribed.

2. In amachine for cutting blank tubes into short lengths for papershellcartridges, the combination, with a hopper, of a tube-receiver and atube-arbor, one of which is longitudinally movable, adjusting devicesfor automatically adjusting the tubes on the arbor preparatory tocutting them, a gang of cutters, and means for moving one or more of thesaid devices to subject the tubes on the arbor to the action of thecutters, substantially as described.

3. In amachine for cutting blank tubes into short lengths forpaper-shell cartridges, the combination, with a hopper, of atube-receiver and a tube-arbor, one of which is longitudinally movable,an adjusting sleeve mounted on the tube-arbor for adjusting the tubesthereupon preparatory to cutting them, a gang of cutters, and means formoving one or more of the said devices to subject the tubes on the arborto the action of the cutters, substantially as described.

4. In a machine for cutting blanks into short lengths for paper-shellcartridges, the combination, with ahopper, of movable pins proj ectinginto the same at different elevations, a longitudinally-movabledelivering-frame for operating the upper and lower pins alternately, atube-receiver into which the tubes are successively delivered from thehopper, a grooved tube-arbor support-ed at one end and arranged to carrythe tubes when they are being out, one of the devices last mentionedbeing longitudinally movable, a gang of circular cutters, and means formoving one or more of the said devices to subject the tubes on the arborto the action of the cutters, substantially as described.

5. In a machine for cutting blank tubes into short sections forpaper-shell cartridges, the combination, with a hopper, of movable pinsentering the lower end of the same at two different elevations andcarried by springs attached to the walls of the said hopper, ahorizontally-movabledelivering-framehaving side bars respectivelyembracing the front and rear walls of the hopper and constructed withcam-recesses arranged to alternately operate the springs respectivelycarrying the upper and lower pins, a tube-receiver into which the tubesare successively delivered from the hopper, a tube-arbor located in linewith the tube'receiver and supported from one end, one of the said twodevices last mentioned being longitudinally movable, and a gang ofcutters, substantially as described.

6. In a machinefor cutting blank tubes into short lengths forpaper-shell cartridges, the combination, with a hopper, oflaterally-movable pins entering the lower end of the same at twodifferent elevations and carried by springs attached to the walls of thesaid hopper, a horizontally-movable delivering-frame having its sidebars constructed with cam-recesses arranged to operate the springscarrying the upper and lower pins alternately, a movable tube receiveror carriage into which the tubes are successively delivered,co-operating with the said delivering-frame to move it in one direction,a spring for actuating the frame in the opposite direction, a groovedtube-arbor mounted in a rocking bearing and located in line with thecarriage which telescopes the blank tubes over it, and a gang ofcutters, substantially as described.

7. Ina machine for cutting blank tubes into short lengths forpaper-shell cartridges, the combination, with ahopper, of a tubereceiver or carriage and a grooved tube-arbor located in line with eachother, both having rocking bearings and one being longitudinallymovable, means for successively delivering the tubes from the hopper tothe tube-receiver, a gang of cutters, and means for rocking the saidreceiver and arbor toward the cutters, substantially as described.

8. In a machine for cutting blank tubes into short lengths forpaper-shell cartridges, the combination, with a hopper, a reciprocatingand rocking tube receiver or carriage, means for delivering the tubessuccessively from the hopper to the same, a grooved tube-arbor mountedin a rocking bearing and located in line with the said carriage, whichtelescopes the blank-tubes over it, a gang of cutters, a rotatable shaftwith which the carriage and rocking bearing are connected, and means forturning said shaft to tip the carriage and tube-arbor toward the saidcutters, substantially as described.

9. In a machine for cutting blank tubes into short sections forpaper-shell cartridges, the combination, with a hopper, of areciprocatin g tube receiver or carriage consisting, essentially, of atail-stock, a head-block, connection between the lower ends of saidblock and stock, and upwardly -projecting diverging fingers secured tothe said connection, a grooved tube-arbor located in line with thereceiver or carriage and thus arranged to have the tubes telescoped overit by the movement thereof, and a gang of cutters, substantially asdescribed.

10. In a machine for cutting blanks into short sections for paper-shellcartridges, a tube receiver or carriage having a tail-stock providedwith a centeringhead'and a headblock provided with a tube-adjustingsleeve, a spring for retractingthe said sleeve to clear the tubes asthey are dropped into the carriage, and a spring for projecting the saidsleeve to force the tubes against the face of the centering-head,substantiallyas described.

11. In a machine for cutting blank tubes into short lengths forpaper-shell cartridges, the combination, with a hopper, of areciprocating and rocking tube receiver or carriage, means fordelivering the tubes successively from the hopper into the said receiveror can specification in the riage, a grooved tube-arbor located in linetherewith and supported at one end in a swinging bearing, a rotatableshaft with which the tube receiver or carriage and the arbor areconnected, a gang of rotary cutters, and means for turning the shaft tomove the carriage and the tube-arbor toward the said cutters,substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this presence of two snbscrib- 25 mgWitnesses.

HARRY O. WHITNEY. Witnesses:

DANIEL H. VEADER, A. W. EARLE.

